The ETSA Contax have
staved off a strong challenge from The Royal Cougars, winning by four goals in
their Round 8 Subway Cup match at Netball SA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In a match either
side could have come away with the 2 points, it was the Contax who showed more
composure in the third quarter getting them home in a tight finish.
While the Cougars
failed to convert good defensive pressure into goals during the second and
third quarters, they are beginning to show that they are definitely a side to
watch out for in 2012.
After a settled start
in the first quarter the pace of the match really lifted as both sides began to
move the ball around well. However, it was the Cougars who got out to a 5-goal
lead mid-way through the first quarter.
Cougars GK Sarah Klau
and GD Amehlia Schmidt were relentless with their pressure on the Contax
shooters, Chelsea Lemke and Casey Gregory throughout the match. At the first
break the Cougars led by 3 goals.
The intensity lifted
in the second period with both sides shifting the ball nicely. The lead changed
twice during the quarter as both sides battled for the ascendancy but it was
the Contax who were more composed to lead at half time by 1 goal.
Inconsistent shooting
from the Cougars during the second and third quarters was not helping the side,
particularly in the third when the Contax put on their best quarter.
In such a close game
something had to give and it was the Contax who put on a tremendous team effort
in the third quarter that enabled them to go out to a 7 goal lead at the final
break.
Adding to the Cougars
shooting woes in the third was an injury to in form C Sammy Nutt that caused a
shake up to their front line.
Nutt returned for the
final quarter to resume her nice battle with Contax C Madeleine Proud as the
Cougars looked to stage a come from behind victory. Cougars GS Jess Roberts put
on a much better shooting display downing all her 11 attempts but the Contax
remained composed to hold off a late Cougars charge to win by 4 goals.
Contax coach Leanne
Eichler whilst not being to concerned about being undefeated was pleased to see
how her side responded to a strong challenge.
“From today’s point
of view it was good to see the girls be challenged and what they do when they
are challenged.
“You’re not going to
win a game of netball without having a good team performance and when someone
else dropped off the boil someone else picked up, so it was a good team
effort.” She said.
While disappointed
after a close loss Cougars coach Scott Waddington was pleased with his sides’
competitiveness.
“Obviously we
would’ve loved to have won the game but to only lose by four and to have a
really competitive go at it, we can take a lot of positive out of the game. “
“Overall I think our
style of play definitely suits that type of game and it was very fast, very
quick and we had our chances.”
The Round 8 Friday
night games were both very high scoring affairs. Contours Matrics won against
Health and Life Phoenix 67-54 while Spring Gully Newton Jaguars defeated
Garville 76-50.
Quarter-by-Quarter Scores:
Q1: Contax 11 – 14 Cougars
Q2: Contax 23 – 22 Cougars
Q3: Contax 35 – 28 Cougars
Q4: Contax 45 – 41 Cougars
Shooting Percentages:
Contax 45/62
72.58%
C. Lemke: 21/31 67.74%
C. Gregory: 24/31 77.42%
Cougars 41/58
70.69%
J. Roberts: 29/39 74.35%
S. Carver: 10/16 62.5%
J. Nixon: 2/3 66.67%
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